The round of 16 won by  Thomas Leygue / Jesús Moya against Juanlu Esbrí / Sanyo Gutiérrez (6/2 4/6 7/5)  The match wasn't only marked by the enormous level of play of the Franco-Spanish pair. On the other side of the net, the tension was clearly palpable between the two Spaniards, until it exploded on the bench.

In one  Philippe-Chatrier in turmoil Leygue and Moya played their cards perfectly. And beyond padel, they also managed to mentally unsettle their opponents.

A very difficult first set for Esbrí / Gutiérrez

From the first set, you could feel that something wasn't quite right on the Esbrí / Gutiérrez side.

 Juanlu Esbrí is far from his best level. He makes several mistakes and struggles to find consistency. Sanyo, meanwhile, quickly begins to show signs of frustration on the track.

Facing them,  Leygue / Moya are applying a very clear strategy  : play accurately, make it last, vary with the chiquitas, force Esbrí to touch a lot of balls and prevent Sanyo from fully entering the game.

The plan works perfectly. Leygue/Moya pull away and take the first set  6/2 .

Sanyo explodes on the bench

The frustration eventually comes out during a change of ends.

Sanyo can't hold back any longer and blurts out:

"He plays every ball low. At some point, let me smash the ball with my backhand."

Then he returns to the track, visibly very annoyed.

Esbrí's reaction was immediate. He then whispered to his coach:

"If he talks to me like that two more times, I'm leaving."

A scene that perfectly sums up the atmosphere within the pair at that moment in the match.

The tension will never truly disappear. Even when Esbrí and Gutiérrez manage to get back into the game and take the second set  6/4 There is a sense of complicated communication, a lot of frustration, and a pair playing under pressure.

@padelnow33

The bench is very difficult.

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Leygue/Moya are mentally stronger

Dance what contexts,  Leygue/Moya were mentally remarkable .

They managed to stay on course, not panic when Esbrí / Gutiérrez raised their level and above all continue to play in the areas that most bothered their opponents.

It's clear that this strategy contributed to fueling tensions on the Spanish side. Esbrí was heavily involved, Sanyo didn't get as many touches as he would have liked, and frustration gradually took hold.

In the third set, when everything could have changed several times,  Leygue and Moya remained more lucid in the key moments .

Le Chatrier did nothing to improve things for Sanyo / Esbrí

The context must also be taken into account.

Playing against a Frenchman in a  Philippe-Chatrier fully committed to Leygue / Moya It's never simple. Every point won by the Franco-Spanish pair provoked a huge reaction from the public.

For Esbrí and Gutiérrez, who were already struggling with their communication, this atmosphere certainly added another layer of pressure.

Conversely, Leygue/Moya were transcended by the support of the public and managed to find additional resources in the most tense moments.

Finally,  victory 6/2 4/6 7/5  rewards a pair that is mentally stronger, more united in difficult moments, and able to remain faithful to its game plan.

And on the Sanyo/Esbrí side, this defeat will also be marked by these images of tension, which show how much this match slipped out of their control both in terms of play and emotional management.

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !

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